Abu Mazen condemns murder of soldiers... but only in English and not in Arabic
Continuing the pattern of his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, '
Moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen has condemned the murders of two IDF soldiers over the weekend. But
only in English, only to a group of New York Jews, and he demanded that Israel similarly condemn the deaths of rioting 'Palestinians.'
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority (PA) reacted for the first time, Monday evening, to the weekend murders of two Israeli soldiers, according to Kol Yisrael government radio.
Abbas was quoted as telling representatives of the Jewish community in New York that he condemned the killing and all other acts of violence against civilians. At the same time, he added that he expected Israel to condemn the last deaths of four Arab youths from Israeli gunfire in recent weeks, apparently referring to an incident in the western Samarian (Shomron) PA town of Kalkilye.
And how do I know that Abu Bluff's condemnation was only meant for Western consumption? From Khaled Abu Toameh, whose Arabic is far better than mine.
Remember when George W. Bush demanded a 'new Palestinian leadership' that was not infected by terror? Eleven years later, we're still waiting for it.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Arabic, English, George W. Bush, Palestinian terrorism, Yasser Arafat
Surprise: MIFTAH apologized in English but not in Arabic
Well, what a surprise.
Elder of Ziyon reports that Miftah, the group headed by PLO Council member Hanan Ashrawi that issued a
blood libel against Jews last week,
apologized in English but
did not bother to apologize in Arabic.
The apology says "We are whole-heartedly committed to fighting racism,
hatemongering, discrimination and persecution of any kind wherever it
should exist, and especially in our own society."
Yet the original offensive article was written and published in Arabic. Two days later, Miftah's Arabic website shows no indication of regret, apology or condemnation of the classic blood libel against Jews that it published. Readers of the Arabic website have only been exposed to the original blood libel article and to Miftah's justification for it
but they have not been informed by NGO that claims to "fight
hatemongering" that there was anything wrong about the original article.
(In fact, their attack against me and original justification for the
blood libel article as part of "its mandate for open dialogue" remains on its website as well. Was that also written by a "junior staff member"?)
As we saw back in the days of Yasir Arafat, saying one thing in English
and another in Arabic is a classic way to appease the West while keeping
the status quo to the intended audience.
I'm shocked. Just totally shocked. /sarc
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Arabic, blood libel, English, Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian anti-Semitism, Yasser Arafat
'Our friends the Saudis' ban use of English language and Gregorian calendar
The Saudi government has banned the use of the Gregorian calendar in all official state and business dealings, according to a report in the local daily al-Watan. The Saudis have also
banned government and private agencies and businesses from using the English language to answer phone calls or to communicate in general.
According to the report, all ministries and agencies must use only the Islamic calendar and the Arabic language.
Al Watan said the Saudi Interior Ministry believes that some ministries and agencies could “sometimes” use the Gregorian calendar when, for example, coordinating flight schedules with foreign airlines, but only on the condition that it is associated with the corresponding Hijri (Islamic) date.
Here is a useful calendar conversion chart for those of you planning to visit Saudi Arabia soon.
Wait a minute - I thought that the Saudis have to have a religious court declare the beginning of each month. Hmmm.
And by the way, if they don't use English, does that mean they'll stop coming to American universities?
Labels: English, our friends the Saudis
Israel to drop Arabic and English as official languages?
Shaviua tov, a good week to everyone.
This post is being written on Friday afternoon. Posting may be sporadic again tonight as I am spending the night as the companion to my friend's son and son-in-law (two different friends have a son and a daughter who married each other), who is in isolation in Hadassah Hospital after having a bone marrow transplant this past week.
Please pray for Moshe Aharon ben Leah Tzipora.
Please pray also for Feige Reizel bat Sara, another friend's mother who had an appendicitis attack on Thursday and is now unconscious and on a respirator.
A bill has been introduced in the Knesset to
remove Arabic's status as an official language of Israel. And that's the least significant part of the bill.
Forty lawmakers from both the coalition and opposition Wednesday submitted a proposal to the Knesset for a new Basic Law that would change the accepted definition of Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state."
The bill, initiated by MKs Avi Dichter (Kadima ), Zeev Elkin (Likud ) and David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu ), and supported by 20 of the 28 Kadima MKs, would make democratic rule subservient to the state's definition as "the national home for the Jewish people." [Keep in mind that this is Haaretz and they likely make the bill sound as ominous as possible. CiJ].
The legislation, a private member's bill, won support from Labor, Atzamaut, Yisrael Beiteinu and National Union lawmakers.
Sources at the Knesset say the law currently has broad support, and they believe it will be passed during the Knesset's winter session.
According to Elkin, the law is intended to give the courts reasoning that supports "the state as the Jewish nation state in ruling in situations in which the Jewish character of the state clashes with its democratic character."
Elkin said: "The courts deal with this issue quite a lot, such as with the Law of Return as a discriminatory law."
The bill redefines basic consensus regarding the character of the state. For example, it also proposes that Hebrew would be the only official language in Israel, as opposed to the present situation - based on current mandatory law, Arabic and English are also recognized as official languages.
The bill accords Arabic "special status," and states that Arabic speakers "have the right to linguistic access to the services of the state, as determined by law."
Read the whole thing. I look at this as a reaction to the overreaching by our uber-Leftist Supreme Court. All in all, I think it's a good thing - it's long since time for Israel to promote its Jewish character. By the way, most Western countries have
only one official language.
Labels: Arabic, English, Israel's Jewish character
